Dundurn Press - true crimehttps://www.dundurn.com/tags/true-crime
enMurder, Ghosts and Halloweenhttps://www.dundurn.com/news/Murder-Ghosts-and-Halloween
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>I wasn’t expecting ghosts. I took the train to Stratford from Toronto to launch my book, The Man with the Black Valise, and everything was lining up nicely. The next day would be the 125th anniversary of the murder of Jessie Keith, a girl who lived north of Stratford in Listowel. Her killer had stood trial at the Perth County Court House, then been hanged at Stratford Jail, both a few blocks from where I was to speak. The event was to be the first full meeting of the Stratford and District Historical Society, and the organizer was Nancy Musselman, a tour guide whose commentary had inspired me to write the book in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>The evening began with a “ghost walk.” With Halloween days away, a prowl through downtown nineteenth-century buildings seemed appropriate. Dozens of people turned out, including some from as far away as Hamilton and London.</p><p> </p><p>Afterward, participants returned for “more spirits,” as the program put it, at the historic Queens Inn. For a moment, I wondered if the audience might be expecting another ghost story. I hold a special fondness for young Jessie and an abiding sadness for her family at the terrible way she died. I recounted the events of October 19, 1894: thirteen-year-old Jessie walking home along the railway tracks; a stranger striking her on the head with a rock, and; the girl frantically fighting off the attack until the final knife assault that ended her life within thirty seconds.</p><p> </p><p><img alt="John Goddard, Jayne Trachsel, Alanna Poel" class="image-inline_inset inline" height="225" src="/sites/default/files/styles/inline_inset/public/images/inline/Halloween%20Blog%20Photo%20%281%29.jpg?itok=Pden2vGW" title="Man with Black Valise Blog Post" width="300" /></p><p>When I finished my speech, I went to the back of the room to sign books and Fred Gonder took this photograph that, to me, perfectly captured the spirit of the evening. The room dates nearly to the time of Jessie’s murder, the upstairs is said to be haunted, and the first two women in line were dressed as ghosts. They were Jayne Trachsel, the historical society’s vice-president (centre) and society member Alanna Poel, both draped in pale silks and tulle shawls, their faces painted white. I wasn’t expecting ghosts but I felt reassured by their solemnity and sense of calm self-possession.</p><p> </p><p> </p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/murder" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">murder</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/ghosts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ghosts</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/halloween" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Halloween</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/costumes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">costumes</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/book-launch" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">book launch</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/Stratford-Ontario" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Stratford Ontario</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/history" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">history</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/local-Canadian-history" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">local Canadian history</a></div>
</div>
Tue, 29 Oct 2019 13:28:16 +0000Dundurn Guest12875 at https://www.dundurn.comhttps://www.dundurn.com/news/Murder-Ghosts-and-Halloween#commentsTurning the Pagehttps://www.dundurn.com/news/Turning-Page
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Writing is a lonely effort. While the raw material for <a href="https://www.dundurn.com/books/Blamed-and-Broken"><em>Blamed and Broken</em></a> came from countless hours spent talking to other people, translating their words into a coherent and undeniable narrative fell solely to me. It was difficult. Not just because the scope of the book spans more than a decade in the lives of so many people. Not because it required a fresh look at thousands of pages of documents that had either been hidden or carted off to archives. And not because I knew early on that what I was writing would challenge some deeply held – and fundamentally false – beliefs surrounding the death of Robert Dziekanski. It was also difficult for me because I began writing at a time when I was least able. As anyone who knows me understands, I was diagnosed with <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/blog/cbc-reporter-curt-petrovich-tells-his-own-painful-story-about-ptsd" target="_top">PTSD</a> following some particularly difficult assignments as a journalist with CBC.</p><p>I won't go into it all here. Google is your friend. In the darkness of my mental illness, writing became a candle. At times it flickered. For long periods it would not burn. Yet I never gave up trying to light it. As harsh as my own life had become (which included two hospital admissions), the spark that compelled me to be a journalist for more than 30 years never completely died. The unanswered questions and inconsistencies that sprang from the tragic death of Robert Dziekanski were too powerful for me to ignore.</p><p>Alone, I wrote. Some days it was a sentence. Many days it was nothing as I went through my own struggles. Although a publisher would eventually become interested in the idea, I continued to write as therapy. It kept me connected to the one thing I thought gave my life purpose: telling stories.</p><p>The writing, however, was never about "the book". It was to set down a story that I simply couldn't allow to remain disregarded or disbelieved. It may sound self-serving, especially to those who don't know me, but there would be no point in writing <em>Blamed and Broken</em> if I didn't believe with all my being that as a journalist it is imperative to, as Carl Bernstein famously says, convey the best obtainable version of the truth. I covered the case of Robert Dziekanski for years. I always did my best to be balanced, fair, complete and transparent. I dare say many of the people who figure in <em>Blamed and Broken </em>acknowledged at the time that I was careful and fair. I could have stopped there – I didn't.</p><p>I often sat alone in the empty public galleries in BC Supreme Court rooms as I followed the trials of the four Mounties involved in Dziekanski's death. I was mindful that this wasn't just a process. It was about real people whose lives are forever changed by the events of October 14, 2007. Three people are dead who otherwise wouldn't be. And though a public inquiry, a special prosecutor and the criminal justice system maintained that ten years of examinations and trials were not about holding the Mounties responsible for Dziekanski's death, it's hard to reconcile that with the facts.</p><p>I knew eventually people would read <em>Blamed and Broken</em>. Again, I was alone as I anticipated how people would receive it. A handful of people, aside from my literary agent and those at my publisher Dundurn Press, were given the manuscript. But the real test would be with readers and the wider public. So the week before publication, I sat down for an interview on <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/the-current/segment/15662287" target="_blank">CBC's <em>The Current</em></a>, where I have appeared a number of times in the past. Yes, there were laudatory comments on social media. They lifted my spirits. For those I am grateful. There were also people who – not having actually read the book, mind you – called it “a crock of shit,” alluded to me having PTSD, and were remarkably unashamed to rely on name-calling and childish sarcasm while clinging to false notions of what actually happened. Yet if I had any doubts about the need for the story to be told, they evaporated thanks to the instant judgment of uninformed critics.</p><p>Later the same day, I had planned a small gathering to officially launch <em>Blamed and Broken.</em> I had concerns that few people I had invited would show up. I imagined I would be largely alone in the back room of a Vancouver pub, a box of books my only company. I suppose I could have simply assumed that's how the day would end. But I've never been satisfied by stories I didn't follow through on – something for which I'm glad. At one point there were so many people, there was barely room to move. The box of books was quickly emptied. And for the first time since I began writing <em>Blamed and Broken</em>, I didn't feel alone.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/ptsd" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">PTSD</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/journalism" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">journalism</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/political-science" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">political science</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/writing-process" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">writing process</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/loneliness" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">loneliness</a></div>
</div>
Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:00:00 +0000Dundurn Guest12421 at https://www.dundurn.comhttps://www.dundurn.com/news/Turning-Page#commentsThe old neighbourhoodhttps://www.dundurn.com/news/old-neighbourhood
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>“The Old Neighbourhood” – we’ve all got one, don’t we? Someplace that we remember fondly, even though we might be looking at it through rose-coloured nostalgia glasses. I only lived at Queen and Spadina for five years, but man, those five years were intense. This is the neighbourhood where Jack Palace, fictional protagonist of my new crime thriller <em>Yard Dog</em>, hangs his head.</p><p>Actually, Jack’s office is up the street a bit, on Spadina just past Dundas. This is Toronto’s “Chinatown A.” (“Chinatown B” is on the East Side, over the Don River, at Gerrard and Broadview.) Back in my drinking days, my friends and I ended many a booze-fuelled night gobbling up tasty late-night Chinatown eats. We’d hit Swatow, New Ho King and Excellent Peking House (which we called ‘Excellent,’ even though it wasn’t really, and is now closed). There were other restaurants not to be named that served Chinatown’s infamous “cold tea,” cheap domestic beer poured and served in a teapot long after last call (2 a.m.).</p><p>I no longer drink, but Jack Palace still does. The bar he frequents in <em>Yard Dog</em> is a composite of several neighbourhood bars but was influenced strongly by Grossman’s Tavern, which opened in 1943 and probably hasn’t changed much since. The place is soaked in booze and the blues.</p><p>Jack’s neighbourhood has changed a lot over the years. ‘You can’t step in the same river twice,’ and all that. Time moves on. Trinty Bellwoods Park, which used to be much rougher around the edges (homeless camps, drugs, prostitutes) is now a hipster hangout with an awesome bookstore (Type Books) right across the street. The moth-eaten gorilla that used to stand sentinel on Queen West just below Active Surplus is gone – as is Active Surplus itself. A lot of the after-hours clubs are gone. Suspect Video burned down. Restaurants and clubs have closed but new restaurants and clubs have opened. Summertime patio season is still hoppin’.</p><p>The Old Neighbourhood isn’t as gritty as it used to be, but if I’ve done my job right, then some of that grit lives on in the pages of <em>Yard Dog</em>. (One scene in particular just leapt into my head, involving angry sea gulls and an alley full of fried chicken – ripped from reality, y’all!) I had a blast when I lived at Queen and Spadina. It wasn’t all peaches and cream, because that’s life, right? You get the rose and you get the briar. But I met a lot of really great people – and some folks who were maybe not so great, but were at least extremely interesting. We had a lot of laughs and it was tons of fun to relive some of those moments while writing <em>Yard Dog</em>. So cheers, Jack! I can’t wait to see what you get up to next on the mean streets of Toronto.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/gritty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gritty</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/toronto" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Toronto</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/local" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">local</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/ontario" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Ontario</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/thriller" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">thriller</a></div>
</div>
Thu, 27 Dec 2018 14:00:00 +0000AliciaE12349 at https://www.dundurn.comhttps://www.dundurn.com/news/old-neighbourhood#commentsInterview with Lee Mellor, author of Rampagehttps://www.dundurn.com/news/interview-lee-mellor-author-rampage
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Lee Mellor sits down with us to talk about his most recent book <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/rampage">Rampage</a> and what he's reading right now.</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: Tell us a little about the overarching theme of your work, and why you felt compelled to explore it.</strong></p><p><strong>Lee:</strong> Despite widespread interest in the topic, multicide (serial, mass, and spree murder) in Canada has been surprisingly underexplored. My first book <em>Cold North Killers </em>broke new ground by looking at 60 cases of Canadian serial homicide. Compared to serial killing, spree and mass murderers have received much less attention. My initial thought was that this was because "rampage killings" were simply less mysterious. However I also wondered if this impression was owing to the way their stories have traditionally been told. Ultimately, I am very proud of <em>Rampage</em>, because I am confident that I have found a way to write about spree and mass murders that makes their psychology as compelling as serial killers. I'm interested to see if my readers feel the same.</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: Did you have a specific readership in mind when you wrote your book?</strong></p><p><strong>Lee: </strong>I think about what I myself would like to read, and write it. Always have done. Other people usually seem to enjoy the end result, so I maintain this approach.</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: What's the best advice you've ever received as a writer?</strong></p><p><strong>Lee: </strong>"Don't look at what people are saying about you on the internet."</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: Describe the most memorable response you've received from a reader.</strong></p><p><strong>Lee: </strong>After writing <em>Cold North Killers</em>, I was contacted by a victim's sister who was partially inspired to confront the murderer because of my book. It made me feel that something fundamentally good had come out of my work. I also received praise from Phillip Jenkins, author of the classic <em>Using Murder: The Social Construction of Serial Homicide</em>, and was honoured to have been of interest to such an influential academic.</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: What are you reading right now?</strong></p><p><strong>Lee:</strong> I am pursuing my PhD in the study of Violent Serial Offenders at Concordia University, and am therefore reading constantly. Among some of the many books are:</p><p><em>Serial Killers and Their Victims</em> by Eric Hickey</p><p><em>Sexual Murder: Catathymic and Compulsive Homicide </em>by Louis Schlessinger</p><p><em>Sex Crime and Paraphilia</em>, edited by Eric Hickey</p><p><em>Psychopathy</em>: <em>Antisocial, Criminal and Violent Behavior</em>, edited by Theodore Millon et al</p><p><em>The Psychopath</em>: <em>Theory, Research, and Practice</em>, edited by Herve and Yuille</p><p><em>Personality Disorders and the Five Factor Model of Personality </em>by Costa and Widiger</p><p>I won't get into the academic papers, but there are hundreds.</p><p>When I have the time and inclination to take a break from the morbid stuff, I slowly whittle away at <em>Cuba: A New History</em> by Richard Gott, and <em>A Game of Thrones</em> by George RR Martin. I'll probably finish these sometime in 2015.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/canada" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Canada</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/cold-north-killers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Cold North Killers</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/lee-mellor" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lee Mellor</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/mass-murders" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mass murders</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/rampage" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Rampage</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/serial-killers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">serial killers</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
</div>
Tue, 27 May 2014 12:57:30 +0000caitlyn8045 at https://www.dundurn.comInterview with Edward Butts, author of Wrong Side of the Lawhttps://www.dundurn.com/news/interview-edward-butts-author-wrong-side-law
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Today we have an interview with Edward Butts, who is the author of numerous books, but today we're talking mostly about his latest book Wrong Side of the Law.</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: Tell us about your book</strong></p><p><strong>Edward:</strong> <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/wrong_side_law"><em>Wrong Side of the Law</em> </a>is a collection of true Canadian crime stories from the colonial era to the 20th century. The chapters cover the country from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and include accounts about border-hopping criminals who operated in both Canada and the United States. The stories feature bank robbers, kidnappers, and killers who were front page news in their time, but are now all but forgotten.</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: How did you come up with the idea for this work?</strong></p><p><strong>Edward: </strong>This book is the most recent in a series of true Canadian crime books I have written. It follows <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/desperate_ones"><em>The Desperate Ones </em></a>and <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/running_dillinger"><em>Running With Dillinger</em></a>. Two of my other books, <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/line_fire"><em>Line of Fire </em></a>and <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/murder"><em>Murder: Twelve True Stories of Homicide in Canada, </em></a>are also historical nonfiction crime collections.</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: What was your first publication?</strong></p><p><strong>Edward: </strong>In 1984 I co-authored <em>Pirates and Outlaws of Canada </em>with Harold Horwood. In 1987 Harold and I collaborated again on <em>Bandits and Privateers: Canada in the Age of Gunpowder.</em></p><p><strong>Caitlyn: In your own work, which character are you most attached to and why?</strong></p><p><strong>Edward: </strong>In 2011, I wrote <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/simon_girty"><em>Simon Girty: Wilderness Warrior </em></a>for Dundurn’s Quest Biography series. I have always been intrigued by the story of this exceptional frontiersman who, for purposes of political propaganda, was so thoroughly vilified by American chroniclers. His life was one of epic adventure and searing tragedy. I did my degree work at university on Simon Girty, and take particular pride in being the author of the only (to date) Canadian book about his life.</p><p><strong>Caitlyn: What is your new project?</strong></p><p><strong>Edward:</strong> I am currently working on a book for juveniles about the history of police, which will be published by annick press. It follows <em>Bodyguards</em>! <em>From Gladiators to the Secret Service</em>, which was also published by annick.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/canada" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Canada</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/edward-butts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Edward Butts</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/murder" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">murder</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/wrong-side-law" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Wrong Side of the Law</a></div>
</div>
Mon, 26 May 2014 12:49:21 +0000caitlyn8046 at https://www.dundurn.com"THE CHEMISTS' WAR"https://www.dundurn.com/news/chemists-war
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In 1919 Dr. Charles Norris becomes the first coroner/medical examiner in New York City who was actually a trained scientist! Before he got the job coroners only had to be friends with the mayor, with no scientific expertise. Instead of just stamping death certificates, Norris set about turning the office into a tool of scientific justice. </p><p><br />At the time poisoners all over America and Europe were busy getting away with murder, because there were no reliable tests to detect poison chemicals in a dead body. People weren't even aware that many seemingly miraculous new elements and chemical compounds like radium and carbon monoxide were harmful. In fact people were using deadly radioactive materials in everything from bottled water to watch dials. </p><p><br />As soon as Norris was appointed to his new position, he hired Alexander Gettler, a scrappy young Jewish immigrant as his main toxicologist and together, they set about inventing twentieth century Forensic Science and assembling a team of like minded apprentices. They devise new tests and procedures to stop poisoners in their tracks and hold irresponsible companies accountable for the deaths of their consumers and workers. Calling on experts as diverse as scientist Marie Curie and war hero Harrison Martland, Norris and Gettler solve inexplicable murders and weird disease outbreaks, throughout the 1920s and 30s. </p><p><br />With the death penalty for murder administered by electric chair as a public spectacle, there was little margin for error. Any slip-up the chemists made could result in a murderer going free to kill again, or an innocent person sentenced to die. </p><p><br />When Prohibition was passed in New York State, drinkers and bootleggers turned to denatured alcohol, (methyl alcohol left over from industrial processes) to get their liqour fix. Angry at how citizens continued to flaunt prohibition, the government introduced disgusting tasting and deadly poisons like plasticizers, benzene and petroleum into industrial alcohol to discourage people from drinking it. <br />Chemists from the bootlegging syndicates raced chemists from the prohibition board to get ahead with new forms of purifying industrial alcohol. With every new poison formula the government chemists invented, the bootleggers' chemists found some way to circumvent it to make the alcohol semi-drinkable. Unfortunately, despite the removal of the bad taste, the new brands of denatured alcohol were sometimes still poisonous and began blinding, paralyzing and killing alcohol drinkers throughout the city.</p><p><br />As illegal drinkers died in droves from the dirty alleyways of Hell's Kitchen to the high class speakeasys of Manhattan, Norris and Gettler fought pressure from city hall and a chronic lack of funds to raise to raise a public outcry against the prohibition board's attempt to poison industrial alcohol.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/adira-rotstein" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Adira Rotstein</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/little-jane-silver" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Little Jane Silver</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/little-jane-silver-and-nameless-isle" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Little Jane Silver and the Nameless Isle</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/ya" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">YA</a></div>
</div>
Sat, 21 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +0000admin8136 at https://www.dundurn.comASA CRAWFORD DISAPPEARS. https://www.dundurn.com/news/asa-crawford-disappears
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>On Saturday evening, November 12, 1912, Asa Crawford left his house and was never seen again. On Sunday afternoon, his son, Lemuel, found his hat on Water Street, near the Burrell-Johnson Iron Foundry. An extensive, but unsuccessful, search was made. Asa Crawford had disappeared.</p><p>Several theories surfaced as to what might have happened to Asa. It was strongly believed that Asa had been fatally beaten by several of the French crewman from a coal ship that had delivered their cargo to the Burrell-Johnson Iron Foundry, and that to hide the deed, his lifeless body was unceremoniously thrown into the ship’s coal bin and covered. The story goes, that once the ship had left port and was sailing out to sea, his body was dismembered and either disposed of in the boiler, or thrown overboard.</p><p>Local residents felt that Asa was murdered by Yarmouth men and then buried in a shallow grave. In either case, it was believed that Asa’s brown skin played a major roll in his demise. Approximately two weeks later on Wednesday, November 27, a badly decomposed body of a man was found in the water at Hilton’s Point, Chebogue. It was thought by some to be Asa, but the corpse could not be identified because of its advanced state of decomposition. It is doubtful that this person was Asa, simply because the body’s clothing carried the label, A. Shuman &amp; Co., one of the largest clothing establishments in Boston. Asa was a poor man barely able to feed his family. As of this year (2012), Asa has been missing for 100 years with still no clue as to what happened to him.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/africas-children" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Africa&#039;s Children</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/asa-crawford" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Asa Crawford</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/sharon-robart-johnson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Sharon Robart-Johnson</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
</div>
Fri, 20 Sep 2013 19:13:21 +0000admin8137 at https://www.dundurn.comDundurn has been in the news for the past week — everybody’s talking!https://www.dundurn.com/news/dundurn-has-been-news-past-week-everybody%E2%80%99s-talking
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>We are excited for all the new titles and authors. Read all about Dundurn’s purchase of Thomas Allen Publishers in the links below.</p><p> </p><p>National Post, Afterword online article Dundurn Acquires Thomas Allen Publishers, July 31, 2013</p><p><a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/google/article.cfm?article_id=12563">Quill &amp; Quire.com</a>, Dundurn Press Buys Thomas Allen Publishers, July 31, 2013</p><p><a href="http://www.openbooktoronto.com/news/dundurn_press_purchases_thomas_allen_publishers">Open Book Toronto</a>, Dundurn Press Purchases Thomas Allen Publishers, July 31, 2013</p><p><a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/58512-dundurn-press-buys-canadian-thomas-allen-publishers.html">Publishers Weekly.com</a>, Dundurn Press Buys Canadian Thomas Allen Publishers, August 1, 2013</p><p> </p><p>But enough about Dundurn, here’s more about our authors:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/47_sorrows"><em>47 Sorrows</em></a> by Janet Kellough was praised in <em>Publisher’s Weekly</em> (US) : “[Kellough] paints an accurately unsentimental picture of Victorian-era Ontario in a time of plague and disaster.”</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/47_sorrows"><em>47 Sorrows</em></a> was also mentioned on <a href="http://www.northumberlandnews.com/news-story/3909392-having-fun-solving-a-mystery/">Northumberlandnews.com</a> because Kellough attended the Midsummer Mystery event in Cobourg Ontario.</p><p><a href="ww.dundurn.com/books/redemption_oscar_wolf"><em>Redemption of Oscar Wolf</em></a> by James Bartleman was noted by the <em>London Free Press</em> in their book review <em>A Long Road to Redemption</em>: “at the core of Bartleman’s story…is Oscar Wolf’s preoccupation with guilt, with the fear, not just of legal guilt, but of divine retribution.”</p><p>Nancy Runstedler (<a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/beautiful_goodbye"><em>Beautiful Goodbye</em></a>) was featured in an author profile in the <a href="http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/07/31/publication-of-first-novel-amazing"><em>Brantford Expositor</em></a>. <em>Beautiful Goodbye</em> also got a syndicated <em>Brantford Expositor</em> article in the <a href="http://www.parisstaronline.com/2013/07/31/publication-of-first-novel-amazing">Paris Star</a></p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/twilight_not_good_maidens"><em>Twilight is Not Good for Maidens</em></a> by Lou Allin was reviewed in <a href="http://www.sookenewsmirror.com/entertainment/217615351.html"><em>The Sooke News Mirror</em></a>: “[…] well written and keeps you opening the book to read just a little more while you can. The descriptions of familiar places in the Sooke area is a treat and Allin captures much of the community and the characters in it, keeping it strangely personal.”</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/everything_runs_movie"><em>Everything Runs like a Movie</em></a> by John Cooper had an online interview called <em>Book Tells Dramatic Story</em> <em>of Alliston Man</em> on <a href="http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/3859428-book-tells-dramatic-story-of-former-alliston-man/">Simcoe.com</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/almost_criminal"><em>Almost Criminal</em></a> by E.R. Brown received another review, this time in the <em>Toronto Star</em>.</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/fire_runway"><em>Fire on the Runway</em></a> by Mel Bradshaw was dubbed a great old-fashioned detective story by the <a href="http://www.thespec.com/whatson-story/3921535-six-gripping-tales-span-three-centuries/"><em>Hamilton Spectator</em></a><em>.</em></p><p>“<em>Fire on the Runway</em> is Bradshaw at the top of his game. He writes a story in which murder, espionage and good old-fashioned detective work are challenging and satisfying despite the absence of forensic toys.”</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/four_degrees_celsius"><em>Four Degrees Celsius</em></a> by Kerry Karram was praised by <em>What’s Up</em> magazine: “this narrative history has much to recommend it, and readers will be carried along by Karram’s writing, as well as the book’s excellent structure and pacing. In <em>Four Degrees</em> <em>Celsius</em>, Karram has not only documented part of her family’s history in thrilling detail, but an important chapter in Canada’s aviation heritage.”</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/wrong_side_law"><em>Wrong Side of the Law</em></a> by Ed Butts had a successful week! It received a syndicated Simcoe reformer article in the <a href="http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2013/08/05/book-revisits-bloody-langton-bank-robbery"><em>Brantford Expositor</em></a> and the <a href="http://www.delhinewsrecord.com/2013/08/05/book-revisits-bloody-langton-bank-robbery"><em>Delhi News Record</em></a>. It was also a part of a feature article in the <em>Simcoe Reformer</em>, and it was reviewd by <a href="http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/4728/a-slice-of-canadas-gritty-criminal-history.html"><em>Canadian Lawyer Magazine</em></a> : “. . . Edward Butts’ very entertaining <em>Wrong Side of the Law: True Stories of Crime</em> will surprise many readers who didn’t know this peaceful country had such a rich criminal history.”</p><p> </p><p>What a busy week, eh?</p><p>My legs are weak just thinking about all the hustle and bustle of last week; luckily we have chairs at Dundurn. </p><p> </p><p>*Blog post written by our intern Anoja Muthucumaru*</p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/brantford-expositor" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Brantford Expositor</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/dundurn" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Dundurn</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/hamilton-spectator" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hamilton Spectator</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/media" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Media</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/mysteries" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">mysteries</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/paris-star" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Paris Star</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/publishers-weekly" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Publishers Weekly</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/thomas-allen-publishers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Thomas Allen Publishers</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/toronto-star" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Toronto Star</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
</div>
Wed, 07 Aug 2013 17:05:31 +0000caitlyn8150 at https://www.dundurn.comMedia Coverage for Canadian Dundurn titles is sending my Nationalism aflutterhttps://www.dundurn.com/news/media-coverage-canadian-dundurn-titles-sending-my-nationalism-aflutter
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<div class="item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Flutter flutter flutter!</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/great_white_fleet"><strong>Great White Fleet</strong></a> by John Henry is praised by <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/Porthole+into+passenger+ship+past/8562973/story.html">Montreal Gazette</a> for being a “Porthole into our passenger ship past.”</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/i_am_algonquin"><strong>I Am Algonquin</strong></a> by Rick Revelle receives a sharp and insightful early review from, <a href="http://umanitoba.ca/cm/vol19/no41/iamalgonquin.html">Canadian Materials</a> magazine— “Revelle makes good use of cliffhangers; that is, he poses a question at the end of each chapter to pique readers' interest and lead them to read on. Action scenes alternate with quieter ones and with passages of information. Indeed, <em>I Am Algonquin</em> contains such a wealth of information that anyone teaching this period might consider using it as a textbook.</p><p>Revelle makes good use of cliffhangers; that is, he poses a question at the end of each chapter to pique readers' interest and lead them to read on. Action scenes alternate with quieter ones and with passages of information. Indeed, <em>I Am Algonquin</em> contains such a wealth of information that anyone teaching this period might consider using it as a textbook.”</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/everything_runs_movie"><strong>Everything Runs Like a Movie</strong></a> by John Cooper is acclaim by Owen Sound Sun-Times for “Cooper has written a fast-paced, first-person account of a crime spree, its back story, the actual event in great detail, and the aftermath, prison, parole and now, private life. It’s an absorbing slice of real crime reporting, well worth tracking down.”</p><p><a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=8051">Quill &amp; Quire</a> commends Barbara Fradkin for creating a well encompassed adventure in <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/whisper_legends"><strong>The Whisper of Legends</strong></a>. “Fradkin deftly captures the spirit of adventure in the North, and incorporates well-integrated commentary about the area’s natural resources and environmental issues.”</p><p><a href="http://www.definingcanada.ca/2013/03/13/irish-genealogy/"><strong>Researching Your Irish Ancestors at Home and Abroad</strong></a> by David Elliott is a recommended read by Families Magazine— “This book is a fine example of how one should up a research plan at home, and when abroad in Ireland.”</p><p> In an early review by <a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=8051">Quill &amp; Quire</a> Nancy Runstedler is noted for her luring narrative in <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/beautiful_goodbye"><strong>Beautiful </strong><strong>Goodbye</strong></a>— “In her debut novel, librarian Nancy Runstedler uses two fantastical elements — the occult and time travel — to lure readers into a narrative that informs as it entertains.”</p><p>Active Senior’s Digest advices any reader of <a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/haunted_ontario"><strong>Haunted Ontario</strong></a> by Terry Boyle to keep the lights on. “This second edition of Haunted Ontario invites the reader along through history. You might want to keep your lights on at night after this read. “</p><p><a href="http://www.dundurn.com/books/old_man"><strong><em>Old Man</em></strong></a> by David A. Poulsen has been nominated as a <strong>2014 Popular Paperback Young Adults (PPYA), by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association</strong>. </p><p> </p><p>It might be the approaching Canada day or the Canadian Dundurn titles, but I sense a little pride brewing! Yummy.</p></div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above">
<div class="field-label">Tags</div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/canada" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Canada</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/fiction" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Fiction</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/history" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">history</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/media" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Media</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/mystery" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mystery</a></div>
<div class="item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/true-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">true crime</a></div>
<div class="item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/ya" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">YA</a></div>
</div>
Wed, 26 Jun 2013 19:53:51 +0000caitlyn8170 at https://www.dundurn.com